Once Upon a Halloween
by MiraculousMarauder
Summary: It's Halloween and everyone is indulging in the muggle custom of fancy dress. James is otherwise occupied for the party, Peter fell asleep so Sirius and Remus head to the astronomy tower


My best friend, my soulmate, my sock wanted some fluff and some fluff she shall have. A little birthday present.

* * *

Halloween night was always a huge celebration within the halls of Hogwarts, and it was no different in the Gryffindor common room. In fact, theirs was arguably the biggest, rowdiest party within the whole castle, perhaps with the exception of the one in the teachers lounge – Dumbledore was known to throw the most ridiculously extravagant shindigs.

This year, a few of the muggle-borns had decided to take the reigns, introducing the others to the concept of a fancy dress party.

"Doesn't that just mean dress robes, then?" Sirius had asked, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. Remus had tried not to laugh - Sirius just looked so put out – and explained to the group about the muggle tradition.

"So just... vampires and ghosts and... seriously? Witches? And this is supposed to be scary? I guess maybe if I dress up like McGonagall..." James fell into a ponderous silence. With much planning to do, the group went their separate ways, each determined to surprise the others with their spooky costumes.

* * *

Halloween morning dawned slightly overcast, the threat of rain dampening the usually high spirits of the students although it cleared up by mid-afternoon and by the time of the feast, they were all back to their rambunctious selves. The great hall was filled with food, laughter and a determined James Potter.

"Come on Evans, you can tell me. Are you going as a sexy nurse, or a sexy devil?"

Lily gave him a flat glare.

"Not that it's any of your business, Potter, but I'm not going as a _sexy_ anything."

"Come on now, Evans. Anything you wear will be sexy. Don't put yourself down like that."

Sticking up her middle finger, she pushed away from the table and stalked out of the hall.

"That's it Prongs. I think you're wearing her down!"

Sirius, Remus and Peter fell about laughing as James' head dropped into the protective circle of his arms on the table.

"Gentlemen, a moment of silence for our fallen brother."

A swift punch on Sirius' arm had them laughing again. The rest of the feast was a felicitous affair and by the time the remains of the food disappeared from the table, they were all thoroughly excited for the night ahead.

* * *

That evening Remus and Sirius were the first to find each other in the common room.

Remus narrowed his eyes as Sirius sauntered over, clearly dressed as a wolf.

"So the scariest thing you could think of was... me?"

Sirius chuckled. "Not scary, I wanted to be cute. Don't you think I'm cute?" He twirled in a circle, fluffy tail bobbing behind him.

Remus spluttered. "Wha... I'm not cute!"

Grinning wolfishly Sirius winked. "Of course not, you're fierce and scary. A big bad werewolf. I was talking about me!"

Blushing, Remus looked away.

"Anyway, what about you?" Sirius finally took a moment to take in Remus' costume. "Is that supposed to be a scary costume? You're a... you're a... what _exactly _are you supposed to be?"

He gave the costume a thorough once over. Mostly grey with what appeared to be little pompoms affixed to the top of his head. To finish it off he wore a pink tutu.

"I'm a hippo."

Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"Hippos aren't scary. And what's with the tutu? Who goes to Halloween dressed as some kind of... _sexy hippo?_"

Pinking under the scrutiny, Remus cleared his throat self-consciously.

"I'll have you know that the hippo is one of the most deadly mammals in existence and it was once thought that they sweat blood, although that was proven to be factually inaccurate. Still, pretty scary."

"Hmm... but you didn't really answer the pertinent question. And... are those..." Sirius' adams apple bobbed in his throat as he let his eyes wonder further down. "Fishnets?"

Remus glanced down at his legs encased in the tights. His pale legs were a stark contrast to the black netting. He looked back up and shrugged.

"They came with the outfit. I figured I should probably wear them."

"Probably wear them, he says," Sirius muttered, rubbing a hand across his face like he was trying to block the image and preserve his sanity. "Right, alcohol is needed. Copious amounts, I should say. Come on Moony, to the bat cave!"

"Do you even understand that reference?"

"Reference? No idea what you're talking about. There's a cave over there with bats. That's where the drink is. Keep up!"

And with that, Sirius placed an arm gingerly around Remus' shoulders and guided him towards the cave.

Once they had suspect and gently smoking drinks in hand, the pair went off in search of the rest of their motley crew.

And it wasn't long before they found the third member. The two stood in the doorway of a small room, barely larger than a cupboard, staring wide-eyed at what was unmistakably James Potter adorned with devil horns and tail heavily making out with Lily Evans clad all in white with wings and a halo. Silently,they closed the door on the offending spectacle.

They turned to look at each other dumbfounded then burst out laughing.

"How- hahaha – how on Earth did he manage... haha... to snog Evans?" Sirius was almost doubled over, clutching his stomach. Remus wasn't much better, his hand clamped across his mouth to muffle the laughter.

"She must be drunk, there's no other explanation."

Sirius nodded in agreement and grabbed Remus' arm.

"Can't believe it. The night had barely started! Come on, let's find Peter. He'll get a kick out of this. Has anyone seen Peter? He hasn't come down yet."

There were general murmurs from a group nearby but it seemed no one had seen him.

"Let's check upstairs."

Together they made their way up the winding staircase and tip-toed into the dormitory. There, they saw a sleeping bundle of what appeared to be toilet paper strewn across Peter's bed.

"What was he supposed to be?"

"A mummy I guess..."

"Should we wake him up?"

"Nah, we'll leave him. James is busy anyway. Looks like the party is over before it began. Wanna go up the astronomy tower?"

* * *

The night was clear, but with no moon in the sky it was quite dark. However the starlight and the soft glow of candles through the castle windows meant they didn't need any help seeing their way. Sirius scrambled up onto the sloping rooftop first before pulling Remus up next to him. They sat in quiet companionship for a few minutes. Remus was the first to break the silence.

"Hey Pads. Have you ever... umm..."

Sirius leaned back on his elbows and shifted his eyes from the stars to Remus' face.

"Have I ever..?"

Remus sat hunched forward, his elbows on his knees and hands behind his neck. "Have you ever kissed anyone?" He glanced at Sirius' face and away again.

"Course. Haven't you?"

Remus smiled wryly.

"Once. I was seven. She was nine. It was at a family New Years do. The next door neighbour's daughter."

Sirius chuckled and punched Remus on the arm. "An older woman, you sly dog."

Remus laughed along but it was half-hearted at best.

"How 'bout now?"

"Now?" Sirius asked, tilting his head quizzically, almost dog-like in his actions and a smile twitched the corner of Remus' mouth.

"Is there anyone you'd want to do that with now?"

Sirius sat silent for a little bit, gazing at the stars.

"Yeah," he said. "There is."

"Oh," Remus bit his lip and looked out towards the lake and further, to the forest. There wasn't much to see in the moonless night. "Right."

"You?"

Idly, he let his gaze drift back once again to Sirius' face.

"I... um... I guess, maybe there's someone..."

He quickly looked away again.

Somehow, the space that existed between them had become smaller and smaller until they were practically touching. Remus turned his head and Sirius realised just how close they had become when their noses' almost brushed. Briefly, he was mesmerised by the sparkle of starlight he could see reflected in his eyes. Willing his heart to steady, at least enough so that Remus couldn't hear the way it thundered in his chest, he took a chance, reaching up a hand and brushing a lock of hair away from his forehead. The atmosphere seemed right, there was a warm hum of alcohol in his veins and he knew a chance like this wouldn't present itself again anytime soon.

"It's you, you know," Sirius murmured, his breath ghosting across Remus' lips and Remus' eyes widened in response.

"M-m-me? Wh-?"

"I wasn't gonna say anything, cause I don't want to lose you. You mean... everything to me, your my best friend, you know? But still... I can't help... I was hoping that maybe you might possibly feel the same?"

"I might..?" Remus swallowed and closed his eyes, and Sirius was glad to see that he looked as nervous as he was. He wasn't running away, he wasn't acting disgusted – not that Remus ever would, Sirius knew that – and when he opened his eyes again, Sirius fancied he could see his answer written there.

And so he kissed him.

All the pent up passion and longing built up over years of studying by the fire side, planning pranks together in the dormitory, watching quidditch matches together and sneaking into all the forbidden areas of the castle together, all of it he poured into the kiss.

And Remus kissed him back, and he was drunk off of the taste of his lips, the nip of his teeth, the slide of his tongue. It was everything Sirius had ever wanted and more.

They spent two hours on that rooftop before the cold finally drove them back inside. Two hours of kissing and confessions and sharing memories of times of their mutual pining and Sirius fell further and further in love with this most perfect man.

* * *

The next morning, with sore heads and green complexions, the Gryffindor table was the quietest in the hall. Lily refused to look anywhere near them while James flopped on the table in a self-pitying heap.

Sirius and Remus sat side by side as usual, quietly eating their breakfasts. Beneath the table, their fingers intertwined. Every so often they would catch each others' eye and smile shyly.

No one had noticed yet, but the common room would be in uproar when they discovered that the cheerfully oblivious Peter had won the pool.

And between you and me, Remus kept the fishnets.

The End


End file.
